Our Priestly Responsibility - Part 2
Malachi 2:7-9 says
“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction—because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the LORD Almighty. "So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”
It is a serious matter to be a teacher of the Word of God and there is immense responsibility on such a person’s shoulders. In this text, God is showing how displeased He is with His priests for “causing many to stumble” and “showing partiality in matters of the law”. A priest is God’s representative and the last thing he should ever show is partiality. God judges everyone according to the same measure – His Holy way.
As we have already seen, 1 Peter 2:5 identifies us, the believers in and followers of Christ, as the priesthood under the New Covenant. We all therefore, have this responsibility upon us – to instruct from the Word of God, and to do it responsibly. The consequences for the priests were looking very dire indeed, as 2:3 says that God will “rebuke their descendents”, literally “cut off their seed”. In other words, not only will they lose God’s favour, but their whole family will too! We won’t face the same punishment, but we do have the same responsibility, and this should highlight just how seriously God sees it.
Of course, our ministers, pastors and preachers have this responsibility laid upon them as part of this job description, so all the more reason for us to support, encourage and help them and they seek to “messengers of the LORD Almighty”. In this sense, it is part of our responsibility as hearers of The Word to test everything we hear, according to God’s Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22), in order to help keep our teachers in line.
Our Priestly Responsibility - Part 1
Malachi 2:1-2 says
“And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honour my name," says the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honour me.”
This text was written as a word from God, through the prophet Malachi, to the priests in Israel. At that time, they were not honouring God in their duties, as they performed worship and sacrifice for the people. God makes it very clear how displeased He is by using ‘curses’ as the consequence, as opposed to the ‘blessings’ they would otherwise have received.
Under the New Covenant, we are the priests and 1 Peter 2:5 identifies us as such. Our sacrifices, being no longer animal, are now spiritual, but our act of sacrifice and worship is no less serious. Malachi goes on to relate just how serious it is in 2:3, where God says that the offal, ordinarily thrown away and/or burnt, was to be spread on the faces of the priests and they were to be “carried off with it.” This is figurative of course, but in effect, it is identifying those practising false or sub-standard worship and sacrifice with that part which is to be thrown away, ie those who dishonour God are to be ‘thrown away’ with the rubbish, as rubbish.
How we worship God – setting our hearts to honour Him (v2) – is a serious matter, as are the sacrifices we make to Him, whether that be time, money or other resources. Let’s “set our hearts to honour Him” and not just rely on His grace to carry us through and forgive us. After all, it should be the very purpose of our lives to rightly honour His Name.
A Heart For Worship - Part 3
Malachi 1:10 says
“ ‘Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will accept no offering from your hands.”
The third aspect of coming to worship is this: if our hearts are not right, if we are not giving God our best, if we are just going through the motions, if we are going to church because we think/feel we have to, then are we better off not going? Is it better in God’s eyes if we don’t go?
This is a really difficult question, and one which has puzzled many minds greater than mine! Is a sour act of worship not an act of worship at all?
I would suggest that it would be counter-productive to stop going to church. The important factor to consider is the personal relationship that each believer has with Jesus and what state that relationship is in. We each need to spend personal, intimate time with Him, praying and reading His Word, learning more about Him. The more we learn, the more we should know what our path should be, and how we can develop not only our relationship with our Heavenly Father, but also our relationships with others. The secret to knowing God is putting Him first – making time for Him where there may not be time; trying to align our very thoughts with His will; thinking what He would have us do in each and every situation we are in – so that it becomes such a part of us that it is even instinctive.
Even though I have said not to cease church attendance, it may well be wise to take a break from your regular church for a while. Going to a different church now and again can actually re-focus you on what you are there for, because you won’t (necessarily) be meeting friends, be seeing people you may be odds with, or even be “scoring points” with those in your own fellowship who take notes on who’s there and who isn’t! You will be in a different church, and because of that, it may actually be easier to worship and/or take in the sermon.
Who knows? You may hear something that God specifically wants to teach you, but you haven’t been listening because of the other things in church life that occupy our minds!
Let’s make sure that our fires aren’t useless and that God will accept our offerings – offerings of true, heartfelt worship.
A Heart For Worship - Part 2
Malachi 1:6a says
“ ‘A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honour due to me? If I am a master, where is the respect due to me?’ says the LORD Almighty.”
How do we prepare ourselves to come to church? Thankfully, the days have gone by where it was a requirement to wear a suit and tie to church (or for ladies to wear a hat), but they were on to something. The initial thinking behind it was a sense of respect – wearing your “Sunday best” to show that this day, this act of going to church was different. The problem only comes where you dress that way because you are expected to, not from your heart’s desire to show reverence to God. I immediately think of The Simpsons, where neither Homer nor Bart want to be in church, yet they are made to dress up in suit and tie, all the time feeling uncomfortable, and ditching the outfit the moment they leave.
We don’t want to be like that. We need to rightly prepare our hearts, and ourselves, to worship God, and to treat Him with the respect He deserves. Yes, we should dress respectably, and if that means wearing a suit and tie or a hat, then so be it, but that expression needs to come from the heart.
On the other side of the coin, we need to ensure that we don’t dress disrespectfully, ie putting in place all the latest fashions and styles ahead of the fact that we are entering God’s sanctuary - such things as fashion should be irrelevant. That also means, for the girls especially, dressing in such a way so as not to be a temptation to anyone else who may have a problem with such things.
God is our Father and our “master”, greater than all others, so when we prepare to come to His place of worship, we should remember that and respect Him accordingly.
